Wrestling the Pods 3/12 – Top 5 Listens of the Week

I took a one week hiatus after debuting this new column covering the best wrestling podcasts and I apologize for that. It was a busy week in my life and had some business to attend to.

Don’t fear, your boy has returned to discuss the best wrestling podcasts from this crazy week in wrestling! This week many were talking about the fallout from WWE’s FastLane PPV while others were discussing the plans heading into WrestleMania 33. Anthem’s new and not improved Impact Wrestling aired this week. I haven’t heard many tackle that monstrosity yet but I did hear one that made the list for best podcasts! Alright, let’s dive into what I think was a great week for wrestling podcasts!

Voices of Wrestling’s TNA loyalist Garrett Kidney and 411 Mania’s Larry Csonka couldn’t wait a week to digest what was the revamped Impact Wrestling. You know an Impact Wrestling or TNA show is absolute trash when Garrett gives up on it.

After years and years of covering TNA for Voices of Wrestling, he’s had enough! Larry Csonka talks about the time TNA wasn’t too bad and that all hope is about gone. Larry couldn’t even finish watching the show this week! The two talk about how Lashley has a stinker of a main event with Impact’s BIG addition to the roster, Alberto El Patron.

The years of experience these two have with TNA/Impact Wrestling makes this podcast all the more sad to hear. Jeff Jarrett and company have made two of their biggest supporters break in the first week of “Making Impact Great”. Does this company have hope? Has Josh Matthews done more destruction to the product than intended? Garrett and Larry tackle these issues in a very great 45 minute podcast that couldn’t wait until next week!

John Pollock and Wai Ting make the list for a second time as they traveled back to WrestleMania 25 that was host to arguably the greatest WWE match in history, Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. Pollock discusses just how little WWE cared about the women’s division at the time. It’s truly astonishing to see just how much more prominent the women are featured in today’s WWE, it’s fantastic.

Wai Ting talks about just how lame the main event between Randy Orton and Triple H was. Should it have went on last? They think not! Pollock and Wai have very intriguing takes on the product at the time. After listening to this, it’s hard to complain about the upcoming WrestleMania 33. There was very little to look forward to at WrestleMania 25 and these two took me back to those very dark times. We are entering the final stretch on the road to WrestleMania and this is a great listen that gets you excited about this year’s WrestleMania!

Dylan Harris, Fredo Esparza, and LIGERFEVER make the list for a second time as they cover another week in lucha libre. The three discuss Conan O’Brien playing the role of a luchador on his show and how great it was. Dylan talks about the disaster that is Yoshitatsu while LIGERFEVER tries to come to grips with what most puroresu fans have been dealing with for a while. They also talk about luchadors who have made their debuts in Impact Wrestling including MLW’s Konnan. Fredo is forced to make the decision of choosing to watch either AAA Worldwide or Impact Wrestling. LIGERFEVER covers AAA Worldwide and the direction the company is heading into. Join Dylan, Fredo, and Lige as they discuss a bizarre week of lucha!

After taking some time off, STRIGGA and Dylan Harris reunite to discuss the recent happenings in the puroresu world! All Japan’s Junior Battle of Glory has finished and the two give their thoughts on the event and what might happen next.

I have recently started following All Japan closely so it’s very nice to hear insight on the current product. If you are trying to get more into this promotion, listen to this episode. The lads also cover the aces of puroresu and how awesome they were in their prime. It’s cool to see The Great Sasuke and Onita getting love on podcasts in 2017. They don’t get talked about enough. STRIGGA and Dylan talk about New Japan’s 45th Anniversary show and what they thought of it as a whole. Hiromu Takahashi’s best opponent since returning is Ryusuke Taguchi? Who is winning the New Japan Cup this year? Is Zack Sabre Jr. a good fit in NJPW? How great has Big Japan been in certain venues and overall? STRIGGA and Dylan cover it all in this two hour podcast. This was a very great listen with fantastic insight!

Kris and David top the list again as they go back to the year of 1987 to discuss all the wrestling that happened on the week of March 1st to March 7th. The two are joined by Pete Lederberg who was a great guest. They talk about the crazy business that WrestleMania III was doing and just how big it was for the WWF.

The amount of content covered in this four hour podcast is insane. It might seem like a very long podcast but you don’t have to listen to it in one setting. That’s what I love about this podcast. Most podcasts are around an hour long and sometimes you want more. If you listen to one hour and want more, there is with Between The Sheets. If you don’t want to listen to a four hour podcast, just save the rest for another day. Pete discusses his recollection of Jim Crockett Promotions taking over in Florida. Bix and Kris talk about Riki Choshu’s relationship with AJPW also. This a very informative podcast and for a younger guy like myself wanting to learn more about the history of wrestling, this is right up my alley. If you into the dirtsheets and territory days, you will love this episode!

Well, that’s my top five podcasts for the week. It was a busy week in wrestling and a good one at that. I enjoyed all the podcasts I listened to for the most part but these are the episodes that were the best! I will be back in one week to cover the best wrestling podcasts from the week of 3/12/17-3/18/17. Until then, I’ll see you all next time!